Billy Kelleher (Cork North Central, Fianna Fail)
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7. To ask the Minister for Social Protection the percentage of adults in receipt in receipt of disability allowance that are currently on community employment schemes; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [50610/13]

Billy Kelleher (Cork North Central, Fianna Fail)
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As the International Day of Persons with Disabilities falls next Tuesday, I felt obliged to table a question on the number of persons with intellectual disabilities who are finding pathways to employment. While I understand the considerable pressure on employment in general, more should be done to find pathways for people with intellectual disabilities into community and sheltered employment and the open employment market. Figures show we have a poor record on finding pathways to work for people with intellectual disabilities.

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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I appreciate the Deputy's remarks. His question relates specifically to community employment schemes. Of more than 21,000 participants on community employment schemes at the end of October, 983 were categorised as being in the disability allowance cohort. This indicates that only a small percentage of recipients of the disability allowance participate in community employment. While we do not have time to discuss this issue in detail, we could have a fruitful discussion on the matter on a subsequent date.

The Department is working on the disability activation project, DAT. I secured funding of more than €7 million, including support from the European Social Fund, which will be spent over several years on 14 projects under the DAT. These projects are live in the Border, midlands and west region and will run until April 2015. They are aimed at providing practical insight into how best to engage with people with disabilities and increase their employment prospects. Having had an opportunity to visit many of them, I note they are making good progress. I can provide the Deputy with more information on the disability activation project and what we are learning about how to get people with a disability who desperately want to work - their parents also want them to work - into employment.

Under the Department's employability services, we offer wage subsidies to employers who take on a person with a disability and small adaptation grants if premises need to be modified. In addition, the Department has ring-fenced 1,000 community employment places for people who have experienced drug addiction and are in rehabilitation, many of whom are in receipt of a disability-type payment.

Billy Kelleher (Cork North Central, Fianna Fail)
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I accept the difficulties involved in creating employment generally. Problems also arise in the case of people who will lose social supports such as medical cards if they move into employment. Finding employment for people with disabilities is a long-standing problem. We must examine every obstacle that is placed in the way of people with intellectual and physical disabilities who wish to enter employment.

Action Plan for Jobs does not refer specifically to getting people with intellectual or physical disabilities into employment. Will the medium-term programme to be published in December include a strong emphasis on encouraging employers to employ people with disabilities and removing obstacles for those of them who want or need to enter the employment market? The obstacles and challenges facing many people with disabilities are too great. Will the Minister address any obstacles in her Department? The Department of Health must address the issue of medical cards. Ongoing, active engagement with employers is needed to encourage more people with disabilities to enter employment.

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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The community employment scheme is being refocused into two main strands. The first, activation, is directed at persons who are long-term unemployed and involved in a pathway back to work.

The second is social inclusion. People who are on a disability allowance, as the Deputy will know, are not part of the activation process because they are registered with the Department as having an illness or need. However, as regards the people the Deputy is talking about, I visit many such organisations around the country. There is an enormous demand among young adults with an intellectual disability to get into work. Recently, I attended an event in Castlebellingham concerning the ongoing work in that area, which includes Dundalk, Drogheda, Cavan and Monaghan to help young people with an intellectual disability under the DAP programme. At the moment, however, people on disability allowance refer themselves into community employment. Perhaps that is something we should think about. They are not part of the activation process but it is certainly open to them to self refer and seek to go on community employment if they so wish.